Jul 29 "Going on vacaaaaation, we're on vacaaaation..."

(This blog title is a song I have made up recently and begun singing every time I'm in the car with my parents. You can imagine how joyful this makes them.)
By the time you all have received this post to your inbox, and settled in with a steaming cup of joe to read its contents, I will be en route to the airport!

Now, to understand exactly why this is so exciting, you should know that we rarely vacay. My parents and brother would come visit me in Los Angeles at school and stay in a hotel and go see things and do things and shop around and that was their version of vacation for four years. Then when I looked at law schools, my mom went with me to the east coast to check out some schools, and that was our version of vacation. We took a family trip to Seattle to visit other family last summer. All other trips I've gone on in the past five or so years (to my recollection) were friend-based, and even that was subject to our combined budgeting needs.

So for our family to plan a trip and bring it to fruition is something great, because it means we are turning a tide. We're living life! We're making the most of every moment! We're using up those air miles we've so diligently on-purpose-not-on-purpose collected over the years!

And guess where we're going? Drumroll, please...

CANADA!

Alright, bear with me. I know if you could pick any place on the map, Montréal and Quebec City may not be the top two destinations on your wish list, but I think it's a great place for us to go for a short trip. It's a French-Canadian province, so there will be lots of European influences and foreign language debacles to make us feel like we've crossed the Atlantic, while saving travel time and travel money for things to do once we arrive.

Isn't that architecture just gorgeous? I know my camera(s) will be on overdrive - in fact, I've bought an extra battery for one and extra memory cards for both, just in case. I don't want to miss a thing!

We'll spend a couple of days there sightseeing (my mom wants to go to the Bio Dome, go figure), and then head north to Quebec City, for more sightseeing and francophile-ity!

We're only going for about a week in toto, so I know it'll be just long enough to get me to fall in love with the place (Degrassi! Maple Syrup! Niceness!), and plan another trip back soon.

In the meantime, I've got lots of scheduled posts for your enjoyment, and I hope you treat the substitute with as my courtesy and respect as you treat me! That means, keep liking and commenting. Ha. I'll have internet access sometimes and will try to post snaps on my Instagram account too, for all of you to follow along in "real time." I've heard how much you kids enjoy that.